Tuesday, 17 March 2026
Early Bird Discount ends 19 Dec 2025
Chair
Prof. Stephen Owen-Conway KC, Sir Lawrence Jackson Chambers
Description
Attend and earn 1 CPD unit in Professional Skills
This program is based on WA legislation
Professional Skills
Managing Unrepresented Litigants: Practical Strategies
Dealing with a difficult self-represented opponent presents unique challenges for the conduct of litigation. Self-represented litigants frequently struggle with the court process, introduce swathes of irrelevant material, and pursue unorthodox arguments – all of which tends to add to your own client’s legal costs. In this workshop you’ll explore the practical issues that arise when facing self-represented litigants. Explore the key challenges that can arise from self-represented litigants:
- Examining recent judicial commentary regarding the court’s function when faced with a self-represented litigant
- Strategies for managing disruption to case management and during hearings
Presented by Douglas Johnson, Barrister, Francis Burt Chambers
Presenters
Prof Stephen Owen-Conway KC, Sir Lawrence Jackson ChambersStephen Owen-Conway KC is a senior barrister with more than 40 years’ experience in commercial and administrative law. He appears in the Federal Court of Australia and State Courts across the country, acting in complex disputes involving corporations’ law, insolvency, equity, resources, and real property. Stephen began his career in England as a member of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple and was called to the English Bar in 1973. After moving to Australia, he joined the Queensland, Victorian and Western Australian Bars, and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in both Queensland and Western Australia in 1992. Alongside his practice, Stephen has taught at universities in the UK and Australia and is currently Adjunct Professor of Law at Murdoch University.
Douglas Johnson, Barrister, Francis Burt Chambers
Douglas Johnson is a barrister at Francis Burt Chambers. He maintains a broad commercial litigation and arbitration practice, with particular expertise in construction and engineering, insurance, and professional liability disputes. He is often instructed on highly technical cases involving complex factual and expert evidence. Clients value Doug’s accessibility and collaborative approach, both as sole counsel and when led as part of a team of barristers. Doug recently received the Tom Yuncken Australian Construction Lawyer award for 2023, where referees highlighted his work ethic, creative thinking, and technical knowledge. Before being called to the bar, Doug worked in the dispute resolution teams at Jones Day and King & Wood Mallesons, and practised insurance litigation at Moray & Agnew.
